Safety crank



E. E. NELDNER ET AL SAFETY CRANK 7 Filed Nov. 17, 1922 2 cJ a/a/awEljwarfi ELNEI dn E1" VInEEnLJ NEI [in E Patented Nov. 4, 1924.

UNITED star EDWARD E. NELDNER AND VINCENT NELDNER, O1? MILW'AUKEE,WISCONSIN.

sarnrv Gianna;

Application filed November To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD E. lflnnnnnn and VINCENT NELDNER, bothcitizens of the United States, and residents of Milwaukee,

in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Safety Cranks; and we do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to safety cranks for internal combustion enginesand is particularly directed to a safety crank for automobile engines. I

Objects of this invention are to provide a crank which may be used forstarting internal combustion engines in the usual man ner, but whichwill, upon back firing of the engine, release automatically withoutdamage to the operator.

Further objects are to provide a crank which is of substantially thesame size as the usual cranks employed for starting automobile engines,which is sturdy in design, effective in operation and simple in construetion.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings inwhich,

Figure 1 is a side elevation with the cover removed, certain of theparts being in sec tion.

Figure 2 is a vertical elevation of the d vice.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that thecrank comprises a hollow casing 1 provided with a removable top 2secured in place by means of bolts or screws passed thru the aperturedlugs 3. The lower portion of the crank is provided with a ratchet member4 having peripheral teeth 5 and a central hub 6 projecting from oppositesides of the body portion of the member 4. This hub is provided with asquare hole 7 'therethrough for the reception of the correspondinglyshaped portion of the engine shaft.

The outer end of the crank is provided with a handle 8 which is pinned.to a stub shaft- 9, such shaft being journalled in the casing and top, 1and 2, of the crank. The 50 central portion of the stub shaft isenlarged and is cut out, as indicated at 10, and re cessed as indicatedat 11. A helical spring 12 is mounted within the recess.

A pawl-member, or lever, 13 extends from the handle end of the crank tothe ratchet end of the crank, and is guided by means of a pair of lugslt and 15 carried by the body portion of the crank. It is provided witha pin 16 against which a helical spring 17- bears, a second pin 18 beingprovided beneath.

the lugs 14 and 15 to limit the upward mo tion of the pawl member 13.Its lower end is provided with a pawl, or tooth, 19 adapted to interlockwith the teeth 5 under certain conditions, and is further provided witha cam face 20 adapted to cooperate with the pin 21 carried by the bodyportion of the crank. The upper portion of the lever 13 is slotted, asindicated at 22, and receives a pin 23. such pin spanning the cut outportion 10 the shaft 9. Normally the crank handle 8 rotated by thespring 12 to a slight ex tent to rock the upper portion of the lever 13to the right (see Figure 1), and thereby cause the disenga ement of thepawl 19 from the teeth 5 of the ratchet member. However, when the crankhandle is grasped by the operator and the crank is rotated to start theengine, the crank handle is given a slight rotary motion which causesthe pawl 19 to engage the teeth 5 and thereby operatively lock theratchet member to the remaining portion of the apparatus and allow thecranking of the engine. Should the engine back fire, however. the lever'13 is slid downwardly as indicated in dotted lines, and its cam face 20contacts withthe pin 21 and moves the lever into the dotted lineposition, thereby allowingthe ratchet member to freely rotate andpreventing damage to the operator. In addition to this automaticrelease, there is a further tendency to automatically release. due tothe fact that when the crank is forced backwardly, slightly by the backfiring of the engine, the crank handle 8 will be auto-mati cally.slightly rotatedas it moves from the operators hands, thereby causingthe pin 23 to rock the upper end of the lever 13 to the right. as shownin Figure 1, thereby aiding in this disengaging action.

It will thus be seen that a safety crank has been provided for internalcombustion engines. which will permit the ready starting of the engineby the usual manipulating that is given a starting crank. which issturdy in design and efficient in operation, and which is relativelysimple in construction.

Although one form of the invention has beenv described in considerabledetail, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limitedby the specific disclosure, but is to be limited only as set forth inthe appended claim.

W e claim A safety crank for internal combustion engines having a crankreceiving shaft, said crank comprising an arm provided with a handle, aratchet member adapted to engage the shaft, a rod carried by said armand adapted to reciprocate and rock relatively to said arm, a springurging said rod in one direction, a pawl integral With said rod and radapted to engage said ratchet, said pawl having a cam face, and meanscarried by said arm and adapted toengage said cam face to throw saidpawl out of engagement with said ratchet when the engine back fires.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our handsat Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

EDWARD E. NELDNER. VINCENT NELDNER.

